The Southern Namib, with its wide open spaces, rugged landscapes and stunning desert sunsets, is certainly one of Namibia's gems.
Just north of the border of South Africa, the Fish River Canyon claims to be one of the largest in the world after the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. The Fish River Canyon is situated between the Namib and Kalahari deserts, and the only roads to it are across vast areas of flat and barren landscapes, sparsely populated with desert plants, quiver trees and cacti. The Fish River, the longest river in Namibia, is dammed at the Hardap Dam in the north, so by the time it reaches the Canyon its water levels are low. Between March and April, after the rainy season, the river flows at its highest through the Canyon, but during April to June, it dries up to a mere trickle, and by August there are only small puddles left on the floor.
The town of Aus is the gateway to the Southern Namib Naukluft Park, and the legendary wild horses that roam the desert, sharing the arid landscape with gemsbok and springbok. There are approximately 170 wild horses living wild in the Namib Desert. There are many theories as to how the horses came to be here. The most likely one is that they are the descendants of the horses which were left behind when the German troops fled the area in 1915. The number fluctuates depending on the grazing conditions. After the rains, tiny green shoots sprout up through the desert floor, providing nourishment for the horses to help sustain them during the next long dry period.
Only 115 km further away is the small coastal town of Lüderitz, sandwiched between the South Atlantic ocean and the sand dunes of the Namib Desert. Its eclectic collection of colourful Bavarian / German colonial style architecture, complete with turrets, gables and bay windows adds to the town's surreal atmosphere.
Namibia's most visited ghost town, Kolmanskop, lies 10 km inland from Lüderitz. Once a bustling boom town built on the success of the diamond mining, now it is deserted except for the sand which is slowly engulfing the houses and buildings.
